BE-86

Status
Not open for further replies.
tightgroup tiger

tightgroup tiger

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
5,905
Location
Piedmont/Triad, NC
Has anyone tried BE-86 yet and what did you think of it?

I see their lots of data for it now if you look up BE-86 on Alliants site, then go to the bottom of the page and click on "View Recipes".

I just bought 2 pounds of it yesterday and can't wait to try it. It seems a little hotter than Power Pistol according to the load data, I wonder if the flash suppressant has warmed it up a little.

Alliant told me yesterday that they "dribbled some out there to get it in our hands and they hope it catches on".

I know we used to call Power Pistol BE-84 so I expect this should be Power Pistol with a flame retardant added. I dumped a little of both together and they are virtually identical in appearance but they do not interchange as far as data goes.

I'm wondering how it will do at maximum load with the flame retardant added, as far as stability goes. It seems to be close to the same burn rate as Unique and Universal, right in the middle of my favorite area. As long as they got rid of the bright white obnoxious flash I going to be a happy man since I haven't seen Universal for over a year.
I may stop at my LGS tonight on the way home from work and buy another 2 lbs if they have any left. I think they will because most people have never heard of it so they'll pass it by.
 
titegroup tiger,
I am glad to see you have stumbled onto some of the BE-86 we began shipping into distribution recently. Sorry to take so long to get it to market, but we have been under siege demand wise for all of our existing products in both OEM and canister markets that marketing didn't want to prioritize this new product (for canister). We will continue to get some out as we can, so if you ask for it, those orders should pull through.
I am very confident you will really like this powder. It is the same magic formulation as Bullseye(R) and Power Pistol(R), and virtually the exact geometry of Power Pistol. It is a little faster burning that Power Pistol though, and very similar to Unique(R), burn speed wise. As you mentioned, we have added flash suppressant to this product to moderate the flash response, whereas we do not for Power Pistol. BE-86(TM) is a high energy propellant though, so do not expect it to be flashless. The FS added moderates what would be maybe a basketball or bushel basket size bloom for a stout load of Power Pistol down to more like a baseball or cueball. I find it very acceptable from the shooter's position, and we have several OEM's that use this material for duty applications.
So to summarize, the "so what" on BE-86 is that it has the outstanding ballistics and ignitability of the BE series powders, in Unique burnrate, with great metering characteristics, with FS to moderate the flash bloom.
We worked up a good amount of data for this powder, but if we have left any applications out that you think might be interesting, send a message in through our "ask the expert" on our website, www.alliantpowder.com
Thank you for your interest in our new pistol powder BE-86.
Shoot well,
Paul
 
I have some test loads in 38spl and 45acp that I have not had a chance to shoot yet. Hopefully this weekend.
 
Alliant Reloading said:
titegroup tiger,

I am glad to see you have stumbled onto some of the BE-86 we began shipping into distribution recently. Sorry to take so long to get it to market, but we have been under siege demand wise for all of our existing products in both OEM and canister markets that marketing didn't want to prioritize this new product (for canister). We will continue to get some out as we can, so if you ask for it, those orders should pull through.

I am very confident you will really like this powder. It is the same magic formulation as Bullseye(R) and Power Pistol(R), and virtually the exact geometry of Power Pistol. It is a little faster burning that Power Pistol though, and very similar to Unique(R), burn speed wise. As you mentioned, we have added flash suppressant to this product to moderate the flash response, whereas we do not for Power Pistol. BE-86(TM) is a high energy propellant though, so do not expect it to be flashless. The FS added moderates what would be maybe a basketball or bushel basket size bloom for a stout load of Power Pistol down to more like a baseball or cueball. I find it very acceptable from the shooter's position, and we have several OEM's that use this material for duty applications.

So to summarize, the "so what" on BE-86 is that it has the outstanding ballistics and ignitability of the BE series powders, in Unique burnrate, with great metering characteristics, with FS to moderate the flash bloom.

We worked up a good amount of data for this powder, but if we have left any applications out that you think might be interesting, send a message in through our "ask the expert" on our website, www.alliantpowder.com

Thank you for your interest in our new pistol powder BE-86.

Shoot well,

Paul
Click to expand...


Thank you Paul from Alliant! I think it's safe to say we all appreciate it when a rep from a company comes in and gives us real facts. You really cleared up many rumors that I had been hearing about BE-86.
 
Paul,
Thank you very much for the reply. I also am very happy to see your presence on the forum.

I saw your reply at work this morning but wasn't able to respond due to being at work.
It's really refreshing to see representation from the manufacturer replying to one of us with the information that means the most to us.

I am really excited to try this new powder and I think it will be everything I hope it is. Power Pistol is my favorite powder because of it's versatility. I can load any and all calibers of handguns I own with it and it performs well in my opinion, except for the flash. With the flash suppressant and a little faster burn rate, it should be a real winner in my .357 magnums and 9mms and many others.

Be warned though that I will be following your advise on load data questions, but for 41 magnum. I know that will be a tough one for you, (I'm snickering to myself because you made this offer). With the heat range of Unique, a flash suppressant, and high energy content of Power Pistol, I don't know how this could not be a winner. It will also meter really well being the same cut as power pistol.

And no, I don't have stock in the company, I'm just excited to get ahold of this stuff and start load development with all the pistol calibers I load for.

Thanks again for your presence on the forum, we all really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post.
 
Thank you "Alliant Reloading" rep. for being here. Your replies to questions is very welcome and needed.
Thank you again.
 
Some posts disappeared. Let's stay on topic, which is discussing the new powder BE-86.

It will be nice when the market settles down and we can pick up whatever powders we choose whenever we choose, but for right now the situation is frustrating for everyone, both consumers and powder companies. Fussing about availability won't make things better. The manufacturers are maxed out now.
 
appreciate it Walkalong.

I tried two loads of BE-86 in .357mag with 158gr RMR plated semi-wadcutters. First load was 7.2 gr, 2nd load 7.6 gr.

I used the 7.8 gr max on Alliant's web site for JHP as max for the plated because it's listed at 1047fps.

I tested these in a Model 28 Smith 6" and an old model Black Hawk flat top 7 1/2" and they were a real pleasure to shoot.

With the 7.6 gr loads and my 28 I just opened the cylinder and inverted it and the empties just fell out. I then tried them in my Blackhawk and the same thing, they just fell out as I turned the cylinder.

My cases were very clean on the outside with no soot at all and fairly clean on the inside as well with still seeing brass in there, instead of the black hole of filth I get with some different brands.

I think Alliants data is definitely on the conservative side for their max and will do more tests as I do more workups. Being a new powder I don't want to exceed their max yet without knowing more about it and doing my due diligence on why Alliant limited Be-86 to only 1046 fps in the .357mag.

That is my only disappoint with so far.

Their may be a better reason for it than the lawyers. Time will tell.

The loads were very accurate and fun to shoot with no beach ball sized fireballs like my Power Pistol loads produced.

I am going to my 9mms next and expect good things from them as well, especially with the flash suppressant since I use them for my CCWs.

I think Alliant has a winner here and hope they can get more of this into our hands.

I liked the BE-86 well enough to stop at my LGS and buy two more pounds of it on the way home from the range.

It's finally starting to make an appearance and now we know it isn't mythical after all.
 
What is it near on the burn rate chart, or what's it supposed to "take the place of", what's it similar to and whatnot? Or do we really know all of that yet?

BTW Good decision, deleting the posts Walkalong, I wish that would have been my natural reaction, instead of slander.:what:
 
That's how I felt when I saw it. I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in there and saw it.
No one was buying it because they hadn't heard of it and didn't know what it was.
That's the only reason the vultures didn't clean it out before I got there.

When the people in the LGS saw me grab two bottles of it, they ask me what it was, they didn't even know.

I shouldn't have told them, it's all gone now. But I did end up with 4 lbs of it.

So I will be doing a lot of testing now, especially with .327mag with lead bullets and maybe 41mag with plated.

My 41 mag likes Power Pistol but the fireball is horrendous.

These will be totally new workup for the ground up.
 
I am very confident you will really like this powder. It is the same magic formulation as Bullseye(R) and Power Pistol(R), and virtually the exact geometry of Power Pistol. It is a little faster burning that Power Pistol though, and very similar to Unique(R), burn speed wise. As you mentioned, we have added flash suppressant to this product to moderate the flash response, whereas we do not for Power Pistol. BE-86(TM) is a high energy propellant though, so do not expect it to be flashless. The FS added moderates what would be maybe a basketball or bushel basket size bloom for a stout load of Power Pistol down to more like a baseball or cueball. I find it very acceptable from the shooter's position, and we have several OEM's that use this material for duty applications.
Click to expand...

From post 2 (Alliant's response)
 
Good to hear that some BE-86 is gradually appearing; thanks for posting your initial opinion on the powder.

I am going to my 9mms next and expect good things from them as well, especially with the flash suppressant since I use them for my CCWs.
Click to expand...

Looking forward to that, tightgroup tiger :)

Flashback: To the USGA TV commercial where Clint Eastwood slowly laments over his choice of club @ Pebble Beach while Arnold Palmer :banghead: watches & then wryly snarks "While we're young....."
 
It'll be next weekend before I get to test 9mm loads.

I'll have to load them through the week. I'll keep you posted. I shoot more 9mm than anything and it will be hard to top the way Titegroup powder works in a 9mm. I have really good luck with it.

That's what I'll be comparing it to.
 
I like to shoot "medium" loads in .357 with 158 Gr bullets. I would really like to know how the BE-86 does powder forward at that power level.
 
I like to shoot "medium" loads in .357 with 158 Gr bullets. I would really like to know how the BE-86 does powder forward at that power level.
Click to expand...
I like to shoot "medium" loads in 9MM with 158 Gr bullets. I would really like to know how the BE-86 does powder forward at that power level (also). :eek:
 
I'll put that on the list for next weekend also. I may get out before that since I have tomorrow off and no plans made for me yet.

The min-max should be 7.0-7.8 gr. I'll try the 7.3 gr load and let you know if I have any problems with them.
 
Hey TT,

You might want to look at this first: http://alliantpowder.com/reloaders/...&weight=147&shellid=23&bulletid=326&bdid=1216

From the Alliant website, they listed a recipe with BE-86 for a 147 gr. JHP with a charge of 5.1g. Your post in #22 didn't mention the bullet weight or configuration you were considering. I think your min-max might be a little high for this powder if you will be testing with 9MM.

Please be careful :scrutiny:

For the .357, the range mentioned jibes with the following: http://alliantpowder.com/reloaders/recipedetail.aspx?gtypeid=1&weight=158&shellid=28&bulletid=317

Walkalong & I will be in line for some some of this powder (if we can find it)
 
Last edited:
New powder from Alliant with Unique burn rate that meters well? Nice!

Alliant's website lists load data for following calibers - http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/Powder.aspx?powderid=38

38 Special
38 Special +P
357 Magnum
380 Auto
9mm Luger
40 S&W
44 Rem Magnum
45 Colt
45 Auto
45 Auto +P

It's good to see Alliant providing load data for lead and FMJ bullets again (Like the 2004 Alliant load data).

I did find something odd. Looking at load data for 9mm, I see 115 gr FMJ listed twice with different powder charge/velocity. Perhaps one of them was meant for 115 gr JHP? If you look at the screen capture below, 6.1 gr/1,219 fps shows for 115 gr FMJ but 6.3 gr/1,238 fps shows again for 115 gr FMJ - http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/powderlist.aspx?type=1&powderid=38&cartridge=23

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • Alliant BE-86 9mm.jpg
    Alliant BE-86 9mm.jpg
    32.1 KB · Views: 3,070
Artofgolf, I was typing my post to Walkalong when you posted yours and then went to eat supper.

I didn't see yours until now.

I was referring to .357mag with my post to Walkalong.

I will check powder forward with the 9mm also but with 124gr mid range loads. I don't use 115gr in 9mm.

I did find something odd. Looking at load data for 9mm, I see 115 gr FMJ listed twice with different powder charge/velocity. Perhaps one of them was meant for 115 gr JHP?
Click to expand...

BDS, that is a little strange and I'll call and ask Alliant about that one on Tuesday. Has to be a mistake. Haven't had time to eye ball the other data except for the .357mag

New powder from Alliant with Unique burn rate that meters well? Nice!
Click to expand...

And a flash suppressant.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

ssyoumans
  • Locked
New powder from Alliant, BE-86
Replies
5
Views
1K
Lj1941
L
LiveLife
  • Locked
Same/comparable/close powders under different labels
Replies
12
Views
1K
LiveLife
LiveLife
Bama Drifter
  • Locked
Alliant BE-86
Replies
11
Views
3K
gonoles_1980
gonoles_1980
Palladan44
  • Locked
Does BE-86 render Power Pistol Obsolete?
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
Palladan44
Palladan44
G
BE-86 9mm 147gr Load Data?
Replies
12
Views
402
Gary H
G
Back
Top